"I'm clear about that. There is no bill that will satisfy everybody's concern of how we are going to get parent involvement."
But the legislation, if adopted, will target a small percentage of parents whose children are consistently truant or commit crimes in school.
In many cases, Ramsey said the root of the problem is simple: "There are some parents, when it's all said and done, should not be parents," he said.
"We have a problem that is serious in this city," he added before citing an example of violence over the weekend involving a 16-year-old boy who was fatally shot by another teen.
The issue of youth violence has become a hot topic in the wake of recent student attacks at South Philadelphia High School and reports of mobs of city high school students descending on Center City to harass people and generally cause trouble.
Across the United States, parents are starting to be held legally responsible for their children's actions, paying fines, serving jail time or being required to attend parenting classes.
Since 1995, more than 40 states have enacted what usually are called parental-responsibility laws.
At yesterday's meeting, Ackerman praised the bill as an "important start" in setting a standard for parental supervision. She cited the district's Parent University, which offers academic and vocational classes to guardians, as one way to encourage them to become more active.
"Education will address many of our society's problems," she said. "[Some parents] don't know how to do it [parent]. They don't have the role models, the education wherewithal. Maybe we have to force it on them," she said, adding that Family Court Judge Kevin Dougherty plans to begin referring families to the district's parent program.
